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Entering the Netflix Stream: August 2012

When it comes to Netflix Streaming it really feels like it’s feast or famine. Some months are great, others not so much. For August I’m leaning towards the latter, which is partially why this Netflix post is coming so late in the month. For August there are a couple decent new releases but they’re a little more art house than what most people are interested in. Otherwise there are some decent horror films (Halloween is just around the corner), 80s fans will find a couple entertaining one offs, Taco Bell is well represented in the 90s, and a couple new shows found their way into the stream. Overall its not a great month but who knows… maybe September will be gangbusters.

New Releases

Warrior- Tom Hardy (Bane, The Dark Knight Rises) and Joel Edgerton play estranged brothers that both turn to MMA fighting to try and solve the problems in their lives. Unfortunately when they go up against each other only one can leave the ring victorious. God Bless America- Police Academy’s Bobcat Goldthwait directs this satire of American society and what complete self absorbed whores our society has become. It is one the most wonderfully politically incorrect films who’ll see in 2012. The Hunter- Willem Dafoe is on a mission, a mission to shoot a rare Tasmanian tiger for a mysterious corporation. Bad Ass- Danny Trejo becomes a local hero when he bravely defends an older black gentleman from a gang of racists. When his best friend is murdered however he goes into full vigilante BAD ASS mode. Seeking Justice- Nic Cage, January Jones, Guy Pearce, and Harold Perrineau star in this very predictable, near straight to DVD release. It’s pretty dreadful which is too bad since it was directed by Roger Donaldson whose past films include The Bank Job, Dante’s Peak, Species, Cocktail, and The Bounty. Donaldson is an uneven director but he’s usually at least interesting but Seeking Justice doesn’t qualify as interesting.

Horror

Silver Bullet- Corey Haim plays Marty, a wheelchair bound boy whose town is being terrorized by werewolf. Marty enlists the help of his sister and his drunk uncle played by Gary Busy to kill the monster before he gets them too.

The Relic- Former meth head Tom Sizemore and current has been actress Penelope Ann Miller try to stop a murderous monster that is hiding out in the Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The Good Son- Frodo Baggins squares off against Kevin McCallister in a film that film critic Gene Siskel called “highly irrsponsible.”

Only in the 80s

DC Cab- Joel Schumacher directs Mr. T and Gary Busey in a film about a cab drivers that need to work together to turn their company around. Quest for Fire- Ron Perlman, Everett McGill, and Rae Dawn Chong are Neanderthals that are in search of fire. In their quest for fire they must deal with rival tribes, saber tooth tigers, wooly mammoths, and a very naked Rae Dawn Chong. Fire and Ice- Cult classic cartoon from Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat, Lord of the Rings) which used rotoscoping to create the film’s distinctive look.

90s Action

Demolition Man- One of my all time favorite guilty pleasure films. LA Cop Sylvester Stallone and criminal genius Wesley Snipes are cryogenically frozen in the late 90s. In the year 2032 Snipes (Simon Phoenix) escapes and causes so much havoc in the new peaceful world that the authorities are powerless to stop so they decide to release John Spartan aka The Demolition Man (Stallone) to bring him in. Kuffs- What a weird time it must of been in America when Christian Slater was actually starring in movies that didn’t go straight to DVD or TV shows that weren’t cancelled within the first 13 episodes. Kuffs was one of those films that was released when he was still a teen heartthrob before his career started going a bit pear shaped.

Battlefield Earth- There are almost no words to describe what mess this film is. It is a total failure across the board in every conceivable way. I thought given the amount of years since its release that I might find some small redeeming quality to Battlefield Earth but I was wrong… it is a spectacular failure that few films will ever surpass.